Bowling alley return gutter



Dec. 18, .1962 M. KEssLER BOWLING ALLEY RETURN CUTTER Filed NOV. 25, 1960 FIG.

FIG. 2.

INV EN TOR FIG. 3.

Milfon Kessler ATTORNEY United States Patent GO 3,069,165 BOWLING ALLEY RETURN GUTTER Milton Kessler, 4535 Grove Drive, Youngstown, Ohio Filed Nov. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 71,695 4 Claims. (Cl. 27347) This invention relates to a bowling alley return gutter, such as is used to return a bowling ball to the bowler after it has been thrown, and has for its primary object the provision of a plastic unitary bowling gutter of onepiece construction throughout its entire length, provided with means to facilitate its rapid insertion into the structure in which it is to be used.

Prior art bowling alley return gutters have commonly been made of wood construction, usually of laminated plywood, which is built into place with the bowling alley, usually being nailed into a slot in the wooden frame work provided for this purpose. This type of construction is expensive both to initially fabricate, and also to install. It is also subject to warping due to moisture, and this has become an increasing problem with modern bowling construction, wherein the bowling alleys are usually laid directly upon a concrete sub-floor, which is in turn laid upon the ground.

tI-t is a primary object of the present invention to provide a unitary extruded plastic return gutter for bowling alleys, which is less expensive than the conventional wooden construction, is not affected by moisture, and is provided with means to facilitate installation in the usual trough provided to accommodate the return gutter in a bowling alley.

Another object is to provide a return gutter for bowling alleys having engaging means incorporated therein whereby the gutter will tend to engage the side of the trough in which it is usually installed, in order to facilitate such installation, and also to minimize the possibility of the gutter working its way out of place.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross section taken transversely to its length through an installed gutter according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a section of the gutter shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional View of another form of the invention.

The return gutter according to the invention is the straight section of guttering, and does not include the curved sections at either end where the ball is started and ultimately received. The length of straight guttering 2 is usually divided into several sections, and it is an advantage of the present invention that it enables the production of a single section of as great length as is required, although it may be desired for convenience in transportation to use several shorter sections. The return gutter 2 is normally installed in a trough comprised of wooden members which form a part of the bowling alley construction. As the construction of this trough may vary, it will be depicted by threen wooden members 3, 4, and 5, of which the latter constitutes the floor of the structure, while 3 and 4 constitute the side members which define the trough. This trough is usually formed during the construction of the alleys, and the return gutter is subsequently inserted into the trough. If long sections of prior art return gutter construction are employed, it

of a unitary piece of extruded plastic, and this is also difiicult to keep perfectly straight and aligned, and is therefore subject to some initial deviation from absolute 'straightness; the plastic gutter therefore also requires essentially the same treatment as the wooden gutter in forcing it into the trough, that is, one end must be held in place while the other end is being forced down into the receiving trough formed by members 3, 4, and 5. This is facilitated according to the invention by the provision of longitudinal extruded barbs 6 formed at the same time as the rest of the gutter, and extending outwar-dly so as to catch in and engage the wooden sides of the trough. These barbs may be formed in a number of different ways, being shown in FIG. 1 at 6, extending outwardly from the vertical legs 7 of the gutter 2.

It will be understood that the plastic material of which the guttering is extruded is selected to be of considerable rigidity and strength, and while the barbs do not ordinarily actually penetrate the wood as shown in exaggerated fashion in FIG. 1, the points do readily engage the wooden sides 3, 4 of the trough sufliciently to keep the gutter in place against a considerable force. If desired, nails or other fastening means may also be employed to assure that the gutter is retained firmly in place, but in any case, the initial installation is greatly facilitated by the presence of the barbs, since they permit one end of the gutter to be installed in its trough, after which is remains in place while the other end is forced into the trough, the barbs preventing the first end from jumping up as soon as the said other end is inserted.

FIG. 3 shows an example of another form of the invention, in which the lower barb 6 is located on the leg 7', substantially as before, but the upper barb 16 is placed substantially in alignment with the extension of the curved portion 15 which defines the gutter for receiving the bowling ball. The advantage of this is that the full force of flexing of the top member of the gutter can be employed to exert pressure on the barb 16, rather than relying upon lateral flexing of the leg 7' alone.

It will be apparent that the embodiments shown are only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction and arrangement within the scope of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A return gutter for bowling balls, for use in a wooden trough, comprising a unitary one-piece extruded member of rigid plastic having a top curved surface portion defining a gutter, and two supporting legs extending downwardly from the sides of said gutter, and a sharp longitudinal barb element extending horizontally beyond the lateral dimensions of the gutter substantially from the line of junction of each leg and the top surface portion for bitingly engaging a side surface of a wooden trough against which the barb is pressed, said barb being directed so as to permit entry of the gutter into a trough and to resist removal of the gutter from such trough.

2. In combination, a floor portion and two parallel straight wooden side members defining with said floor portion a shallow trough, and a rigid plastic reutrn gutter located in and held by said trough, said gutter comprising a unitary extruded plastic section having an arcuate channel member on the top thereof for reception of a bowling ball, and two downwardly depending leg portions at the respective lateral edges of said channel member, said leg portions resting upon said floor portion, and said channel member extending between said side portions, and a plurality of barb elements extending longitudinally with respect to said return gutter and unitary therewith, said barb elements having sharp biting portions extending out horizontally beyond said leg portions and bitingly engaging the surface of said side members to retain said where said channel member and said leg member are joined.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wiggins Mar. 10, 1903 Gremp et a1 Nov. 10, 194-2 Blatt Feb. 14, 1961 

